Collapsible crate



Aug. 1, 1933. F. J. KLINKA COLLAPSIBLE CRATE Filed May 10, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet l jfmk 12mm.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F J KLINKA COLLAPSIBLE CRATE Filed May 10, 1930 Aug. 1,1933.

Patented Aug. 1, 1933 r UNITED STA:

Es: PATENT orrics A This invention relates to certain new and usefulimprovements in collapsible crates andrefersmore particularly to eggcrates and has as anobject to increasethe strength of .crates of thischaracter without complicating their struc- 1 ture or adding to theirweight. 7 V

Heretofore, collapsible egg crates have usually been made of wood andfor this reason were very easily and oftenbroken. It is, therefore,

"'10 another object of this invention to provide a collapsible crate ofthe character described whichis formed entirely of stamped metal.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel construction for.crates of the character '15 described wherein the major elements consistoi similar units, 4 A iurther object of this invention is to provide thetop and bottom members with a plurality of raised ribs which increasethe rigidity of the members and cooperate with the cardboard sheets atthebottom and top of the layers of eggs when the crate is filled toproduce protecting air spaces or cushions. 1

And a still further object resides in novel means for readily detachablysecuring the structure in its position set up for use. With the aboveand'other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds,.my inventionresides in the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention .35 may be made as come within the scope of theclaims. l In the accompanying drawings, I'have illustrated one completeexample of the physical embodimentof my invention constructed accordingto the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application ofthe principles thereof, and in which: I V

Figure 1 is a perspective, view of a crate el bodying my invention setup for use;

Figure 2 is a detail view of the means for securing the. crate inoperative position, partly in section and partly in' elevation and takenthrough Figure l on the plane of the line 2-2; Figure 3' is aperspectiveview of the crate illustrating the manner of collapsing the.same;

and

Fi re 4 a sectional View taken through Fig-.

."ure, 1 on the plane of the line 4-4,.and showing the protectingairspace at the bottom of the stack of eggs.

Referring now moreparticularly to the accompanying drawings, in whichlike numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, thenumerals 5 and 6 represent the top and bottom of the crate,respectively, which are each stamped from a sheet of bendable metal and.are identical in construction with the exception that the top isprovided with a handle 7. Strengthening ribs 8 pressed into the top andthe bottom serve to increase the rigidity thereof, and two oppositeedges of the top-and bottom are curled, as at 9, and 10, respectively;

Rods 11 secured in the curled edges 9 of the top and bottom and havingtheir extended ends received in loops 12 formed on adjacent ends of pinsor rods 13 which serve to hingedly connect the four sides 14 of thecrate, provide means for hingedly connecting the top and'bottom with thesides. s l

The sides 14 consist of a'plurality of slats 14" stamped from bendablemetal and provided with longitudinal strengthening ribs 15, and curled'ends 15 forthe reception of the pins 13. As clearly illustrated, theslats of adjacent sides arestaggered'with respect to each other so thatthe curled ends of the slats of two adjacent sides abut and extendthroughout the entire height of the pins 13; In. this manner the sidesare freely hingedly connected to permit their 1 being moved to and fromcollapsed position and the top and'bottom are hingedly' connected withthe top and bottom edges respectively of opposite sides.

To increase the rigidity of the sides, rods 16 are threaded throughaligned. apertures "17' formed in the slats at a central point bypressing their rib portions slightly outwardly and their ,side flangeportions inwardly. The rods 16 of The inwardly directed flanges 19 donot only strengthen the top andbottom and increase the rigidity of theentire structure, but also partially close the'space between the'top andbottom and the adjacent slats of the sides at which the flanges arelocated to preclude the possibility of the crate contents droppingtherethrough.

To secure the crate in its set-up position, the curled edges 10 of thetop and bottom are provided with latch members 20 which yieldablyproject'their ends beyond the opposite sides of the top and bottom forengagement in loops 21 formed in the ends of the pins 13 opposite theloops 12.

As best shown in Figure 2, the latch members "20 have laterally directedhandle portions 22 tom, houses an expansive spring 24 which is confined,in a compressed state, between a pair of pins 25 slidably received inthe intermediate portion of the curled edges and urged by the spring toabut the handle portions 22 of the latch mean bers and normallyyieldably urge them to their operative or extended positions." a

The outer ends zfi' of the openings'23 through which the handle portionsof the latch members extend, are cut on an angle so that the action ofthe spring automatically turns the handle members into parallelism-Withthe top and bottom, as will be readily apparent. Therefore, to retractthe latch members 20 to permit their engagement or disengagement fromtheir cooperating loops 21,, it is only necessary to turn the ban dlemembers to theirdotted line positions. illustrated in Figure 2, theangular ends 26, of the openings 23 acting as cams to force the latchmembers inwardly. p

The plurality of ribs 8 formed in thetop and bottom members besidesserving to increase the rigidity of ti .ese members, also cooperate withthe outermost of transverse cardboard division sheets 27 upon which thelayers "of eggs 28' rest to pro videprotecting air spaces or cushions29, the ribs 8 being assisted by a plurality of inwardly extending titsor projections 30. Breakage of the eggs by sudden joltsand jars during;transportation is thus greatly reduced, as the air spaces prevent theeggsfcoining in contact withthe solid surface of the top and bottommembers.

In the foregoing description, and the accompanying drawings, the slats14 formingthe sides have been defined and depicted ashaving mediallongitudinal strengthening ribs, but it is understood that the specificcross section of the slats may be varied at will without deviating fromthe spirit or the invention. However, it is noted that all of theslats iiare identicalin construction,

and by forming the top and bottom equally similar in design, thenumberof operations necessary to produce the individualelements entering intothe construction is reduced to a minimum. Crates constructedinaccordance'with this invention therefore can be produced in largequantities at a relatively low cost.

What I claim as my invention is: v

l. A collapsible crate comprising top and bottom members stamped frombendable metal and each having two opposite curled edges, hingedlyconnected sides comprising spaced similar slats stamped from bendablemetal, means hingedly connecting the slats ofadja cent sides, andconnecting means carried by the curled edges of the top and botttom'adapted for engagement with said means hingedly connecting the sides.

2. A collapsible cratecomprising a top,.a bottom, and a plurality ofsides, each of thegsides 8. In a collapsible'crate-of thecharactsrdebeing formed of a plurality of spaced slats stamped frombendable metal with longitudinal strengthening ribs and curled ends, theslats of one side being staggered with respect to those of the adjacentside, a hinge member passing through aligned curled ends of the slats ofadjacent sides to hingedly connect the same, and a reinforcing member onone of said sides intermediate the ends thereof passing through saidstrengthening ribs.

3. In a collapsible crate, a metallic top memher, a curled edge on saidtop, a latch member mounted in the curled edge of said top member, meanscarried by a side of the crate with which the latch member is adapted toengage, means yieldably urging the latch member to operative position,and means for retracting the latch member to permit its engagement anddisengagement from its retaining means.

4. A collapsible crate including top and bottom members and sidesconsisting of similar metal slats, the slats of adjacent sides beinghingedly connected in staggered relation whereby certain of the sideshave less height than the others, and inwardly directed flanges extendedfrom themarginal edge portions of the top and bottom members adjacentthe sides of less height, said inwardly directed flanges increasing therigidity of thet'op and bottom members, and cooperating with said sidesof less height to form the crate enclosure. l

5. In a collapsible crate of the'character described, a first sidemember, a first end member, a first pin pivotally connecting saidmembers, a second side member comprising a plurality of no metal stripsformed with eyes at the opposite ends thereof, a second pin pivotallyconnecting said end member to said second side member, a second endmember comprising aplurality of metal strips formed with eyes at theopposite ends thereof ,a third pin pivotally connecting said second endmember to said first side member, a fourth pin pivotally connecting saidsecond end member to said second side member, a bottom supported by saidpins, a top pivotally mounted from two of said pins.

6. In a collapsiblecrate of the character described, a pair of sidemembers and a pair of end members, pins pivotally connecting said sideand end members to form a continuous structure, a bottom pivotallyconnected to two of said, pins and retained in place by the otherconnecting pins a top pivotally connected to two of said pins, and meansto detachably connect the top with the other pins so that the pins forma rigid direct connection between the top and bottom of the crate.

7. In a collapsible crate of he character described, a pair or sidemembers and a pair of end members, pins pivotally connecting said sideand said end members to form a continuous. structure, a bottom memberpivotally connected to two of said pins, atop member pivotally connectedto two of said pins and means including theireinaining connecting pinsto secure the top and bottom members in closed position to form arigidsubstantially rectangular container with. the top and bottom memberstiedtogether by. thejpins.

scribed, a plurality of side walls, corner pinspiv- M: otally connectingthe side. wallsto ,form, a, continuous collapsible structure, loops atthe upper and lower ends of the corner pins, a bottom. for the crate,projections carried'by the bottom. and received in two of the lowerloops to permanently hingedly connect the bottom with said collapsiblestructure, means carried by the bottom and read: ily detachablyengageable in two other lower loops to hold the side walls in properposition and support the bottom directly from the corner pins, and a topconnected with the upper loops or the corner pins, whereby the top andbottom of the crate are directly connected through the corner pins.

9. In a collapsible crate of the character described, a plurality ofside walls; wire corner pins pivotally connecting the side walls to'forma continuous collapsible structure, loops formed the top and bottom anddetachably connected with other loops to hold the top and bottom.

closed withsaid wire corner pins forming direct connections between thetop and bottom.

10. In a collapsible crate of the character described, four side walls,wire corner pins hingedly connecting the four side walls to form acontinuous collapsible structure, loops at the upper and lower ends ofthe corner pins, a bottom wall, a top wall, projections on saidbottomwall engaged in two lower loops to'permanently hingedly connectthe, said bottom wall with the collapsible structure, means carried bysaid bottom wall and readily detachably engageable in the other twolower loops, projections carried by the top wall and engaged in twoupper loops to permanently hingedly connect the top wall with thecollapsible structure, and means carried by the top wall and readilydetachably engaged in the othertwo upper loops.

FRANK J. KLINKA.

